You've got to read it to believe it... Abigail Cries Poor

[Wolfie]

I'm deathly afraid of propane, less afraid of natural gas. Although when I sold my house and had the inspection I found out I had a gas leak in the basement, I was told I was lucky the house hadn't blown up. I love gas cooking so much better than electric.

Can I ask why you're more afraid of propane than natural gas? At least with propane if you spring a leak, all that can fill your house is what is in the tank, while natural gas is pretty unlimited. I've actually heard of more natural gas explosions in the last few years (PG&E has let their network get really bad), and no propane explosions. (Not that they don't happen, but I only hear of them in wildfires.)

I don't have much of a choice here, I prefer gas stoves, so I have a propane stove. And the cost of heating with electric would be way too expensive, so I have a wood fireplace insert with a propane wall heater as back up. Not to mention that because of PG&E's wonderful infrastructure my power has been out for as long as a week after a snowstorm, It is much easier to be able to cook inside during those times, as well as have backup heat.

Snakes, oh my.My daughter is a county surveyor. Their department shares space with public works. A phone call came in one day from a man who had a HUGE snake come up into the toilet. I wish I still had the photo, it was a pine snake. So they go out to inspect his property. The septic tank had a crack in it and more than 100 pine snakes were wintering there. It was incredible, they are big snakes. He had to have his septic tank replaced. And now I look in every toilet before I sit down. :o

Ick, ick, ick. I am so glad that my septic tank is very sound and pretty new.

[lilith]

Can I ask why you're more afraid of propane than natural gas? At least with propane if you spring a leak, all that can fill your house is what is in the tank, while natural gas is pretty unlimited. I've actually heard of more natural gas explosions in the last few years (PG&E has let their network get really bad), and no propane explosions. (Not that they don't happen, but I only hear of them in wildfires.)

I don't have much of a choice here, I prefer gas stoves, so I have a propane stove. And the cost of heating with electric would be way too expensive, so I have a wood fireplace insert with a propane wall heater as back up. Not to mention that because of PG&E's wonderful infrastructure my power has been out for as long as a week after a snowstorm, It is much easier to be able to cook inside during those times, as well as have backup heat.

Ick, ick, ick. I am so glad that my septic tank is very sound and pretty new.

That snake story is the stuff of nightmares.

I'm not even particularly scared of snakes - I grew up with a carpet snake that liked to live in our underground pantry and kept coming back, no matter how many times Dad put it in a sack and released it miles and miles away, and my attitude is one if caution more than fear, but that story made me shudder. Snakes coming up through the toilet? And hundreds more nesting in the septic? Good god, I'm literally shuddering again.

Are they a venomous species?

[NurseNell]

Are they a venomous species?

No, they are actually very useful snakes. They eat a ton of mice and rats.

As to my fear of propane over natural gas it's only because where I live there have been more propane explosions even though I know the reality is there are more natural gas explosions.

Now, back to Abigail: she hopes for a baby with CF? Why? Kids with CF are, overall, doing better and living longer than they did when I was on peds a long time ago but it's still a burdensome chronic disease to have. I did see something last night about her hoping to adopt a special needs child. I said a prayer that it wouldn't happen. She's on the edge now with her 5 kids, she does not need any more, much less a child with special needs, adopted or bio.

[Bbfamteam]

I would so much rather have a gas furnace then the crappy baseboard heat that last month alone cost me a quarter of my paycheck. No temperature control and extremely inefficient = fleece, flannel and stocking hats for bed. But, I'm single and you can bet if I had kids I would make damn well certain they were warm and fed if it meant giving up all other excesses.

[clarinetpower]

If you would believe it, they are crappier than Suzuki brand violins, and a large instrument that is cheaper than a cheap violin? They have worse than crappy tone, and when they do break, which they will, most instrument repair shops won't fix the cheap off brand instruments. Stay away from the cheap instruments that costco, walmart and sam's occasionally carry as well, for the same reasons.

Now, if you can luck out and get a reasonable, gently used violin without any major damage for that price, go ahead. I have a garage sale banjo that was $50 (about 15 years ago), which is a decent instrument. BUT my mom saw the instrument in person before it was bought.

I agree. I'm a band director, and though I don't know violins, I know wind instruments. I had a student (at a conservative Catholic school, actually) whose parents bought her a $100 trumpet on Ebay. It was from India, and looked like someone had a seen a picture of a trumpet in a book and decided to make their own out of tin foil and car parts. The thing worked for about 2 weeks (though the tone was terrible and it was horribly out of tune), then it broke and was unfixable. Local music stores (in Madison, WI! Who knows, maybe i ran into Abigail!) refused to fix instruments from India, Korea, China, etc. because of this, and wouldn't fix anything from Walmart, Sam's, etc. period. They are unfixable, and just keep breaking. You are basically throwing your money down the toilet.

By the way, music stores have a Blue Book for instruments, just like there is for cars (Kelly blue book). Buying used, just call them up or ask to meet the seller at the music store. They can tell you exactly what it is worth, and show you in black and white. If you find one at a garage sale, a quick phone call can tell you if you're getting a deal.

But I agree. Give up the cello rental. Buy a few 99 cents/pound chickens, a couple of bags of potatoes and carrots, and a bag or two of egg noodles. Make chicken and potatoes, homemade stock, chicken soup. Lots of meals out of that, for very little.

[miffy]

I've got an old septic tank :S

I used to have a cat who would go roaming & come home with baby brown snakes. She didnt kill them, but would drop the furious snake at the front door and then clear off in a hurry.

[Talitha Cumi]

If you would believe it, they are crappier than Suzuki brand violins, and a large instrument that is cheaper than a cheap violin? They have worse than crappy tone, and when they do break, which they will, most instrument repair shops won't fix the cheap off brand instruments. Stay away from the cheap instruments that costco, walmart and sam's occasionally carry as well, for the same reasons.

Now, if you can luck out and get a reasonable, gently used violin without any major damage for that price, go ahead. I have a garage sale banjo that was $50 (about 15 years ago), which is a decent instrument. BUT my mom saw the instrument in person before it was bought.

Crappier than Suzuki? Daaaamn. That must be painful to listen to. Hearing the Duggars playing Twinkle variations in 14CaPA hurt me.

[Koala]

You have to appreciate that she started her most recent post with:

One of the coolest things about my bff St. Teresa of Avila

No need for the fundies to even try today. She has topped them all right off the bat.

I don't care who you are, a 38 (?) year old woman referring to a saint as her "bff" is pure gold.

Also, mommy Mary and baby Jesus (except when he's her boyfriend instead).

My day got off to a sucky start, but this has made it all better. :lol:

[fakepigtails73]

I'm deathly afraid of propane, less afraid of natural gas. Although when I sold my house and had the inspection I found out I had a gas leak in the basement, I was told I was lucky the house hadn't blown up. I love gas cooking so much better than electric.

Snakes, oh my.My daughter is a county surveyor. Their department shares space with public works. A phone call came in one day from a man who had a HUGE snake come up into the toilet. I wish I still had the photo, it was a pine snake. So they go out to inspect his property. The septic tank had a crack in it and more than 100 pine snakes were wintering there. It was incredible, they are big snakes. He had to have his septic tank replaced. And now I look in every toilet before I sit down. :o

:o :shock: :o All those snakes would have given me a heart attack!! In the septic tank, no less... Urgh!!

[fakepigtails73]

Funny how regional differences affect one's perception!

I live in a smallish (120,000 people) city in northern Canada. EVERYONE in our community heats with natural gas. When I was a kid in the 1960's a few people still had oil furnaces but by the 1970's all had converted to gas. Many also supplement with wood or pellet stoves. It gets cold here in the winter. Like -20C to -45C cold. I can't imagine using electricity to heat our home. As it is, my electric bill in the winter (for lights, appliances, tv) runs about $400 for 2 months. If we had to use electric for heat, our bill would easily exceed $2,000 for the same period.

And I've never heard of a gas explosion in our area in all of my 50+ years!

Interesting indeed! Depends on where people live, I guess. Last week in my neck of the woods it was -45C with windchill index, and this past wendsday it was 7C. Weird!! The normal for late January here is about -15C...Last winter was abnormally warm.

When I was a kid we had an outdoor swimming pool heated with propane. I remember that tank was huge!!

I live in the same country as you, in a province where water-based hydro is plentyful and dirt cheap... Some rural areas in Abitibi or Gaspesie here got electricity only in the early 60s so gas is what (still) heats their houses. Last year there was a gas leak beside a theater on a street near my house. It took the whole afternoon for Gas Métropolitain to fix...The smell was gag-inducing.

For winter my electrical bill comes to something like $450-$550, for 3 months, for heat and other electric appliances.

[2xx1xy1JD]

Yeah, Quebec is a bit of an anomaly energy-wise, with cheap hydro that's off the grid from everyone else. [For those outside of Ontario and Quebec, hydro = electricity, not water. The utilities were called Ontario Hydro and Quebec Hydro because much of the power came from hydro-electric (water-powered) plants.] Bit of a problem, though, when the lines went down during the Great Ice Storm in 1998.

[GeoBQn]

It's not even noon WV time and Abigail has written three rambling posts to justify herself.

abigails-alcove.blogspot.ca/2013/02/st-teresa-of-avila-and-me.html

One of the coolest things about my bff St. Teresa of Avila is that she faced very similar cultural circumstances that we do in 21st Century America. In the 1500s, Spain was the world super power. They had tremendous, tremendous wealth. New wealth from Spain's new colonies flooded the country. The colonies were the hot "tech stocks" of the age. Two of Teresa's brothers ended up going to Brazil or somewhere and coming home with huge amounts of cash.

Teresa was an aristocrat. It's hard for my modern mind to even comprehend what the title "Lady" meant--even to a 40 year old nun inside a cloister. When she stripped that off and wrote a simple "Teresa of Jesus" on her entry form to her first Reformed Carmelite Convent--that huge. That really meant something tangible about her growth in Faith.

Teresa lived in a time when she felt like the Roman Catholic church was being ripped apart from the inside out.

No mention of the expulsion of Jews from Spain (likely were a portion of that wealth came from, since all Jews leaving the country had to leave their wealth and possessions behind.) No mention that this time of the church being "ripped apart" was during the Inquisition, when people were interrogated, tortured, and executed on suspicion of being Jewish. No mention that St. Teresa was the granddaughter of Conversos.

abigails-alcove.blogspot.ca/2013/02/ode-to-first-world-problems-part-1.html

This is a really bizarre entry about her time at Smith and her experiences living in a dorm, including a girl getting her homeless boyfriend to live in her room.

abigails-alcove.blogspot.ca/2013/02/ode-to-first-world-problems-part-2.html

This "don't let the money cloud your dream" has just always been there inside my heart. Jon jokes that I took small starting salary as a new lawyer because "that was the door closest to the exit." He is so funny. He started dating me my last semester of my last year in law school. He got a Masters of Fine Art after we met. People at his Grad School were always like "Oh, your wife's a lawyer! She must be so smart." He'd joke back "I was smart enough NOT to go to Law School." I love him! He's so perfect for me.

I find it disturbing that she responds to her husband's incredibly disrespectful comments about her degree with "I love him! He's so funny! He's so perfect for me!"

[wild little fox]

I read some more of her posts.

She clearly has issues.

What happened with her growing up? Clearly, her family had some money, but I'm wondering if there were some major strings/power struggles?

Her entire attitude toward money and responsibility seems to be dysfunctional from my POV. She creates situations where she and the family are struggling - and then goes on rants about pro-choicers who think that people should be prepared for pregnancy, rants about how she relies on G-d for her financial plan, rants about how her indulgences are totally deserved and necessary even while she's taken this vow of poverty, etc. The common thread seems to be that she's not focused AT ALL on realistic planning and managing, but rather seems to view these things as bad. Instead, she struggles, then says that it's just fine to struggle with kids, then panics about being poor to the extent that the kids are cold and hungry, then says that stupid spending for mental health is worth it, and finally ties up her arguments by claiming that she's rejected the worldly view of planning things and is somehow more Godly doing things this way. She doesn't see that it's not about crying "but I DESERVE it!" like a child, but rather about making an actual budget and setting out priorities.

If you have fed the kids and met their basic needs, and there is money left over - sure, do something you like. But hey, I'm not the one into martyrdom or vows of poverty, and I also think that parents have a responsibility to do everything in their power to meet their children's basic needs.

Once again, I'm also wondering if this is one of the big draws of the fundie/pro-life world: this idea that you don't need to plan anything, it's fine if you suck as a parent, and you are simply awesome for the mere fact that you didn't take the birth control pill or abort.

I think you are on to something. I think a lot of Christianity is like that. One really does not have to take responsibility for their actions because a prayer takes care of sin. Sin only happens if you fall outside of the will of God. They just make it up as they go along to satisfy their own agendas.

What kind of mother takes a vow of poverty? I thought that was for priests, nuns, etc. I think she is making up her own rules to justify her immaturity and irresponsibility.

[Koala]

People at his Grad School were always like "Oh, your wife's a lawyer! She must be so smart." He'd joke back "I was smart enough NOT to go to Law School." I love him! He's so perfect for me.

I find it disturbing that she responds to her husband's incredibly disrespectful comments about her degree with "I love him! He's so funny! He's so perfect for me!"

[lilwriter85]

No, they are actually very useful snakes. They eat a ton of mice and rats.

As to my fear of propane over natural gas it's only because where I live there have been more propane explosions even though I know the reality is there are more natural gas explosions.

Now, back to Abigail: she hopes for a baby with CF? Why? Kids with CF are, overall, doing better and living longer than they did when I was on peds a long time ago but it's still a burdensome chronic disease to have. I did see something last night about her hoping to adopt a special needs child. I said a prayer that it wouldn't happen. She's on the edge now with her 5 kids, she does not need any more, much less a child with special needs, adopted or bio.

I also hope she and her hubby aren't able to adopt. I remember this was discussed in another thread and a few people gave reasons to why it might not happen. I think the chances are pretty low for them. I remember someone saying that their finances might be reviewed. The way Abigail handles money is very scary.

If she and her husband do pass a home study or get approved to adopt, I picture see her having adoption fundraisers. After reading her blog, I wouldn't donate to her. I had never heard of adoption fundraisers/donation funds until I started reading FJ and found about Daniel and Lyndsie. I see that is common among different types of people. Someone said that Kate Gosselin's sister had a blog and was collecting donations to adopt. I would rather donate to D&L more than Abigail and her hubby. D&L did make an effort later on to save money. I know many here had issues with Lyndsie not working, while the donation fund was going on. I thought she could have worked at least part time to help contribute to the fund. But Lyndsie is probably nowhere near as bad as Abigail when it comes to money.

[Boltingmadonna]

New wealth from Spain's new colonies flooded the country. The colonies were the hot "tech stocks" of the age. Two of Teresa's brothers ended up going to Brazil or somewhere and coming home with huge amounts of cash.

Gahh . . . Is Abigail unaware that, unlike "hot tech stocks," this money from the colonies didn't come from smart people making things and selling them to others? Instead, it was pure looting of other cultures that were in some ways more developed than the culture of Spain. Teresa's brothers must have participated in the looting--and probably in the murder of indigenous people and the destruction of their society. They just killed people and took their sacred objects and wealth and shipped it back to Spain to be turned into money. People were tortured to make them tell where more gold could be found. Rape, murder, and theft. If that's how Teresa's family got their money, they were war criminals. I don't think the wealth of Spain came from Brazil, though. Brazil belonged to the Portuguese. The Pope gave Peru and Mexico to Spain for looting. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Tordesillas)If Abigail loves Teresa so much, she could TRY to at least get the sordid history straight.

[Ex 2x2]

Someone mentioned that she hopes to adopt. In order to do so, most agencies require a certain income, and it is based on the number of people in her family. With 5 kids, that would be quite a high amount. If she wants to adopt internationally, the country in question sets the income amount. Some people get up in arms about these requirements, but it's really just to make sure you don't adopt kids that you can't afford to take care of.

There are also square footage requirements. Again, based on the number of people in your home. I cannot remember now if these vary by agency or by state. There is also sometimes a requirement for a certain number of bedrooms, or a limit on the number of children sharing a room.

There are many many other hoops to jump through. Of course we all know about the high cost, but depending on the agency, there are many other things you have to do. A physical, physicals for everyone living in your house, background check, cpr classes, parenting classes, references, home visits, where they check for things like fire extinguishers, (and yes, they'd want the home to be properly heated), etc.

They ask very invasive questions...the state of your marriage, etc. I honestly think she sees herself as way too precious to go through all of that. Which works out well, really.

[darareaksmey]

Someone mentioned that she hopes to adopt. In order to do so, most agencies require a certain income, and it is based on the number of people in her family. With 5 kids, that would be quite a high amount. If she wants to adopt internationally, the country in question sets the income amount. Some people get up in arms about these requirements, but it's really just to make sure you don't adopt kids that you can't afford to take care of.

There are also square footage requirements. Again, based on the number of people in your home. I cannot remember now if these vary by agency or by state. There is also sometimes a requirement for a certain number of bedrooms, or a limit on the number of children sharing a room.

There are many many other hoops to jump through. Of course we all know about the high cost, but depending on the agency, there are many other things you have to do. A physical, physicals for everyone living in your house, background check, cpr classes, parenting classes, references, home visits, where they check for things like fire extinguishers, (and yes, they'd want the home to be properly heated), etc.

They ask very invasive questions...the state of your marriage, etc. I honestly think she sees herself as way too precious to go through all of that. Which works out well, really.

Not only that, but in this day and age, I wonder if (conscientious) adoption agencies or lawyers don't Google people to see what they may have revealed on the interwebz that doesn't otherwise show up in the application process. Were I a birth mother considering an adoption plan for my baby, I might give a big old thumbs down to a couple who did not appear financially (or mentally, FFS) stable enough to take on another family member. Presumably you would want better for your child than you thought you would be able to provide; a sizeable number of birth parents might just say, screw this; at least we don't waste money on home decor when someone needs fed.

While they are dissimilar in a lot of ways, I think Abigail is going to be the new Emily for me--someone who keeps stacking the cray-cray higher and higher.

[Ex 2x2]

Oh yeah, I bet there is a lot of googling going on these days! We adopted just long enough ago that everyone didn't have this online presence like many do now. But now? It would be too easy to find info. Besides, can you imagine the info that she would provide herself for the birthparents? You KNOW she'd mention Mommy Mary and her bff Theresa in her letter. That alone would scare most away!

[countressrascal]

:o :shock: :o All those snakes would have given me a heart attack!! In the septic tank, no less... Urgh!!

Due to where I live I get rattle snakes in the litchen cabinets all summer long. So in the morning you have to open the cabinets leave them open for about 2 minutes before putting your hand in. They seem to love my coffe mugs. I don't mind snakes it is mice that scare the SH*T out of me. I had one that would wait until I was in the shower then come in the bathroom and sit on the vanity. I would just stand there and scream until the Count came in to get the mouse.

[slickcat79]

Not only that, but in this day and age, I wonder if (conscientious) adoption agencies or lawyers don't Google people to see what they may have revealed on the interwebz that doesn't otherwise show up in the application process. Were I a birth mother considering an adoption plan for my baby, I might give a big old thumbs down to a couple who did not appear financially (or mentally, FFS) stable enough to take on another family member. Presumably you would want better for your child than you thought you would be able to provide; a sizeable number of birth parents might just say, screw this; at least we don't waste money on home decor when someone needs fed.

While they are dissimilar in a lot of ways, I think Abigail is going to be the new Emily for me--someone who keeps stacking the cray-cray higher and higher.

You would think there are enough failsafes in place, but it seems like fundie-types can make adoptions happen in ways that would never fly for "normal" people. Like psycho Emma from Strong Quiver, who wins the Worse Mother Ever award in perpetuity for her treatment of her adopted Haitian children. LL from VitaFamiliae was also able to adopt from Uganda(?) when she already had 5 kids, although I'm not sure what her husband's income is like. There have been several adoption blogs mentioned on here lately where child collectors manage to adopt in numbers that you'd think any reputable agency would refuse. Many countries that are popular for international adoption have problems with government corruption, where officials wouldn't think twice about bending the rules for an influx of Western cash.

[Green Glass]

This woman is the other side of the coin from the Whiner Lady (the one who posted all the pictures of the huge, beautiful house and whined about how small it was and complained about the laundry room). But somehow the two remind me of one another - I think it's the ME, ME, ME attitude they both have.

I've seen several different bloggers go on about living in poverty when they clearly are NOT. I find it pretty offensive. I can understand having trouble managing money or spending impulsively, but to do so and then talk about how wonderful it is to be poor... I don't think she's ever seen true poverty.

[Ex 2x2]

Slickcat, that's true. I don't know how some of these awful families get approved!! I don't know that any of the countries have specific family size limits, so long as your income meets the requirement for that many. As a frame of reference, when we were looking into China (and this was 10 plus yrs ago), the requirement was 10k per family member, plus 10 for the child you wanted to adopt. So for a couple with 2 kids, wanting to adopt one, they'd need an income of 50k/year. China has made a ton of changes since then, and it is harder now than it was then to adopt from there, so that might be significantly higher now...I don't know. And I don't know how their requirement compares to other countries.

[countressrascal]

She is so clueless regarding finances and money. I thinks that she likes the idea of taking the vow of poverty so that she can be better than everyone else and have something so everyone can feel sorry for her. Then she wants to live the upper middle class lifestyle that she grew up in. I am really pissed that she went to Smith and then bad mouths her experience there. I wanted to go to Smith and was not accepted, so I had to settle on going to Bryn Mawr.

Anyone with a half of brain could resolve her financial issues, she might be very bright but she is dumber than a door nail in real life.

[Beb]

Due to where I live I get rattle snakes in the litchen cabinets all summer long. So in the morning you have to open the cabinets leave them open for about 2 minutes before putting your hand in. They seem to love my coffe mugs. I don't mind snakes

WHAT??????

Snakes....not just any old snake--RATTLESNAKES! OMG. This would be a must move now situation for me.